Cougars Hold On, Beat Chantilly 17-15
As expected, it was a hard hitting game between Oakton and Chantilly on Friday night. The Cougars and Chargers provided the fans with a traditional Concorde District battle that was close in the end.
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Chantilly's Roger Strittmatter did his best to lead Chantilly back to the win, but when the final gun sounded, the Chargers were on the short end 17-15.
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The Cougars got a big lift from senior quarterback Ryan Harris on Friday against Chantilly. Harris tossed what would prove to be the game winning touchdown pass right before the half ended to give Oakton a 17-0 lead. The Cougars didn't score again, and held onto the lead to win the game....
Photos By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
VIENNA, VA - In the Concorde District, you just never know, and that is how most felt after leaving Oakton High School on Friday night. The Oakton Cougars, who entered the contest unbeaten, held off a valiant effort by the Chantilly Chargers to secure a big Concorde District win 17-15, and keep pace with unbeaten Westfield.
The Cougars jumped out in the first quarter to a 7-0 lead when tailback Jonathan Meadows scored from 5 yards out. Meadows raced to the corner of the end-zone and then finished the run off with an acrobatic dive to pay dirt.
After a solid defensive stop, Oakton then got the ball back and marched down the field again. With first and goal inside Charger territory, the Cougars began to self destruct with penalties, and had to settle for a Ray Goins field goal to increase their lead to 10-0.
Chantilly continued to sputter on offense, and the Cougars appeared to be headed into the locker room with a 10 point lead at the half. But with under a minute to go, senior Ryan Harris rolled to his left and then found Trey Watts running down the sideline for a big touchdown that gave Oakton a 17-0 lead.
At the half, Oakton head coach Joe Thompson said he told his team that they needed to play smart, and avoid costly penalties in the second half. For some reason, Thompson's message fell on deaf ears, because in the second half, Chantilly capitalized on several Oakton mistakes to get back into the game.
The Chargers got on the scoreboard with a Ryan Abott field goal on their first drive of the second half to make the score 17-3. Chantilly's Brian Abatemarco then came up with the big turnover the Chargers needed when he intercepted Cougar quarterback Chris Coyer late in the 3rd quarter.
The Chargers took possession and just as the drive appeared to stall inside Oakton territory, quarterback Roger Strittmatter found a streaking A.J Johnson diving in the end-zone. Johnson's big catch came on a 4th and 12 and gave the Chargers hope that they could make a miraculous comeback.
In what proved to be a crucial play, the extra point was botched by Chantilly and the score remained 17-9 in Oakton's favor.
Chantilly got the ball back with under 5 minutes left in the game, and proceeded to put together the kind of drive that seasons are made of. Torrian Pace left, Torrian Pace right, then Kevin McGrath up the middle. You get the gist. It was an impressive drive capped off by a Pace touchdown run behind the left side of the Charger offensive line that ignited the Purple Platoon in attendance.
Chantilly had to go for the 2-point conversion to tie the game with the hopes of sending it into overtime. On the conversion try, the Chargers swung a pass out to Pace in the flat, but it fell incomplete and the Cougars narrowly held onto a 2 point lead 17-15.
The Chargers then attempted an onside kick, but when the kick didn't travel 10 yards, Oakton took over and proceeded to run the clock out to secure their 6th win of the season. In the loss, Chantilly dropped to 4-2.
The game was damaging to Chantilly's title hopes in the Concorde District this season. With Westfield and Oakton still unbeaten, it would now take the Chargers running the table, and some big upsets along the way for either the Bulldogs or Cougars for Chantilly to win the district.
However, based on how Chantilly played in the second half, there is hope that the Chargers can build on the confidence gained to come from behind, and secure a playoff spot.
VELOCITY SPORTS PERFORMANCE PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
FOR OAKTON:
Jack Tyler - Senior Linebacker
Tyler was all over the field on Friday night and played a major role in slowing down Chantilly's offense in the first half.
Andrew Leonard - Junior Defensive Back
Leonard made several big plays from his defensive back position to keep the Chargers from pulling out the comeback win. His sound tackling and stellar coverage helped Oakton improve to 6-0.
Johnny Meadows - Senior Tailback
Meadows ran 16 times for 122 yards and scored once in the game to lead all rushers for Oakton. His tough running up inside proved to be the difference in Oakton's ability to control the time of possession and the line of scrimmage for much of the night.
FOR CHANTILLY:
A.J Johnson - Senior Receiver
When Chantilly trailed in the second half, they went to Johnson to lead them back. Johnson's late touchdown catch on 4th and 12 will go down as one of the great plays for the Chargers this season.
Torrian Pace - Senior Tailback
When the outcome looked bleak, Pace took the Chargers on his back and brought them back with several impressive runs. With 2:59 left on the clock, Pace scored from 5 yards out to give the Chargers a chance to tie the game....
Isaac Sine - Senior Linebacker
Sine was stout all night long in this game, keeping Oakton's tailbacks in check. His play was a big reason why Chantilly was able to get back into the game in the second half.
*Check back for photos from this game and also a complete TV Replay on Monday night right here online at GamedayMagazine.com.......
